In college, the microwave was life. I literally used it to heat up any food I had; instant rice, cup of noodles, frozen chicken patties...the list goes on and on. Once I moved out of the dorms and had my own apartment, the possibilities opened up. However, I was still a greenhorn when it came to cooking, so I used the only thing that was familiar to me, the microwave. What I loved about it was the convenience of everything and the fact that I could get a hot meal in minutes was unbeatable. Then my love for the microwave started dying when I started to gain confidence in cooking actual meals. It took a few tries, but I was getting the hang of it. Sure cooking took 20-30 minutes as opposed to 2-3 minutes, but the outcome was worth it.
After about a year cooking my own food, I realized after heating some leftovers that I hadn't really used to microwave in a long time. For some reason I had been craving a microwave meal. Was it because I subconsciously missed the dorm life and the convenience of a 3 minute hot meal? I really don't know. I went out to the store to grab a frozen meal and reminisce the "good ol' days". I heated up my meal as the box instructed and peeled the plastic cover back. But something was different. The food was nasty. Had my palate changed because I had been cooking for over a year? Was it just a change of recipe from the company's part? Was my microwave broken? So many thoughts were swirling through my head. I started microwaving other leftover food I had a revelation. I could literally taste the difference between food I heated up in a pan vs heating up in a microwave.
Now if you were to ask me to describe how I tasted things differently, I would tell you that its a difficult question to answer. It's not a sense that I can really describe like sweet, sour, salty. For me, it tastes like the life of food is taken when it is microwaved. Does that make sense? The best way I can really set the scene is to imagine a cherry tomato thats been on the heat a minute too long. The skin is wilted and you question its viability. You shrug your shoulders and tell yourself, "eh, how bad could it be?". Then you take that bite and it just tastes wrong. The tomato juice is sour, the skin disintegrates in your mouth and your face just makes the most disgusted face as a result. Thats my microwaved food experience now.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not discouraging the use of microwaves because I still feel like they are very useful, especially for those that want to get their feet wet when it comes to preparing food. What I want to encourage is that you take the confidence to try new things and maybe slow down in life. Sure cooking your own meal might take anywhere from 10-30 minutes, but trust me, taking that extra time makes all the difference, not only for your taste buds, but it makes you appreciate where your food comes from.
Thanks for taking the time to read by first blog.
TheWannaBeFoodie - out